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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Struggle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.